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The best primers for oily skin are the first line of defense between your makeup and its potential to last all day—results with no slippage, with minimal shine. We’ve all been there: after spending the time crafting your beauty look in the morning, it appears to be picture perfect as you look in the mirror. The question is: how will your look hold up? Ideally, your work day ends, and happy hour begins with minimal makeup touchups—the kind you can accomplish with a few key products rather than toting around a full beauty bag.
Vogue’s Favorite Primers for Oily Skin
- Best Panthenol: Prada Refine Blurring Extending Primer, $50
- Best Skincare-Makeup Hybrid: LYS Beauty Secure Skin Gripping Serum Primer, $20
- Best Soft Matte: NARS Soft Matte Primer, 38
- Best Makeup Artist Favorite: Hourglass Cosmetics Vanish Airbrush Primer, $58
- Best Blurring: Smashbox The Original Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Makeup Primer, $34
In This Story:
- How to Choose a Primer for Oily Skin
- Do you really need a primer?
- How to Apply a Primer for Oily Skin
- Meet The Experts
Those with oily or combination skin can especially count on developing unwanted shine in their T-zone as the day goes on, only amplified in photos by flash photography. Whether you’re off to a special occasion or simply want your makeup to last on any typical day—shop the 10 best primers to combat oily skin.
Best Panthenol: Prada Refine Blurring Extending Primer
- Why We Love It: Prada Beauty’s primer does it all. A blend of liquid exfoliants reduces excess oil production before it starts, keeping unwanted shine at bay. Meanwhile, panthenol’s humectant properties help retain moisture, keeping your skin supple. The finish? A soft-focus matte look that never dries out. For best results, the brand recommends waiting two to three minutes for its primer to fully dry before applying any additional products.
- Key Ingredients: Panthenol, liquid exfoliants (AHA, BHA, LHA acids)
- Type: Gel
Best Double Duty: Benefit Cosmetics POREfessional Matte Pore Minimizing Primer
- Why We Love It: Benefit’s mattifying primer is so lightweight and translucent that you can choose to wear it on its own, au naturel with no makeup, or as a first step before a full makeup look. The formula’s star ingredient, niacinamide, is a well-known powerhouse ingredient that reduces sebum production without stripping the skin and combats acne thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties. Meanwhile, a combination of rose hip extract and mineral powder doubles down on shine control and pore blurring for up to eight hours of wear.
- Key Ingredients: Niacinamide, rose hip extract, mineral powder
- Type: Liquid
Best for Acne Prone Skin: Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Non-Comedogenic Matte Blur Stick
Milk Makeup
Pore Eclipse Non-Comedogenic Matte Blur Stick
- Why We Love It: Acne-prone and oily skin type combinations can feel temperamental when pinning down products that treat your concerns without inciting further breakouts. Milk’s matte blur stick is specifically formulated to be non-comedogenic with a host of skin-loving and acne-fighting ingredients. Niacinamide and bakuchiol work in tandem to hydrate and reduce hyperpigmentation. Meanwhile, lentil extract and charcoal absorb excess oil. The finished result lends to a matte canvas, with results lasting up to 16 hours.
- Key Ingredients: Lentil extract, charcoal, niacinamide, bakuchiol, tea tree oil
- Type: Balm
Best Super Matte: Make Up For Ever Step 1 Primer Shine Control
- Why We Love It: For a super matte finish, Make Up For Ever’s primer can withstand even the most oily complexions for up to 20 hours of wear. For best results, the brand suggests concentrating the product application on the center of your face, taking a targeted approach to only addressing where you’re most likely to get unwanted shine. Ingredients like tocopheryl acetate and pentylene glycol work in tandem to add moisture back into your skin while mattifying. Plus, maca root extract protects against free radical damage, while lactic acid gently exfoliates.
- Key Ingredients: Pentylene glycol, tocopheryl acetate, maca root extract, lactic acid
- Type: Gel
Best Makeup Artist Favorite: Hourglass Cosmetics Vanish Airbrush Primer
- Why We Love It: After an airbrushed look (with no actual airbrushing required)? This primer can help you fake it, with just a few pumps of the clear, gel-like formula. “I cannot say enough wonderful things about this primer and it’s a beloved staple in my kit! This silicone-based gel formula has a stunning blurring effect on the skin and is perfect for filling in fine lines and pores,” explains pro makeup artist El DeBratto. “I love using this for my more oil-prone clients or for men’s grooming because it instantly absorbs any excess oil and leaves the skin looking velvety + healthy.” For best application, DeBratto advises moisturizing first, followed by application of one pump of Hourglass’s primer to targeted areas of your face as needed—then wait until the product fully dries down before moving onto makeup.
- Key Ingredients: Dimethicone, glycerin, silica
- Type: Gel
Best Skincare-Makeup Hybrid: Lys Secure Skin Gripping Serum Primer
- Why We Love It: Lys made their primer specifically for those with oily, blemish-prone skin types. Another skincare-makeup hybrid formula blends niacinamide, ginger root, and several citrine extracts for oil-controlling results that won’t exacerbate breakouts. Best of all, the natural exfoliants found in ingredients like orange, grapefruit, and lemon work as a gentle exfoliant to improve skin texture and reduce the appearance of pores over time.
- Key Ingredients: Niacinamide, glycerin, bilberry fruit extract, saccharum officinarum extract, orange extract, lemon extract, ginger root extract, grapefruit seed extract
- Type: Serum
Best Application: Refy Blur and Hydrate Primer
- Why We Love It: Refy’s primer controls shine and hydrates with skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin and shea butter. Pullulan, a natural ingredient derived from corn starch, keeps makeup in place for up to 8 hours of wear. Aside from this primer’s shine-fighting capabilities, the packaging is also a unique and innovative draw: Imagine a mega-sized lip balm squeeze tube for your face. Simply squeeze the bottle and glide the rounded metal applicator across your face in a circular motion—the coolness of the metal helps to depuff under the eyes while also buffing in the product.
- Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, shea butter, pullulan, glycerin
- Type: Gel-to-cream
Best Lightweight: The Tatcha Liquid Silk Canvas
- Why We Love It: Calling this primer Liquid Silk isn’t just a matter of describing the ultra-smooth texture of the product itself—the formulation’s star ingredients are quite literally derived from silk. Silk powder absorbs and minimizes unwanted oily skin in your T-zone. For a surge of moisture, silk extracts keep your complexion supple in combination with Tatcha’s signature skincare complex, hadasei-3, a blend of potent fermented ingredients for skin barrier support. The Japanese beauty brand drew inspiration for its own primer from bintsuke, a soft soy-based wax complexion base historically used by geishas to create a smooth canvas for their makeup and protect their skin.
- Key Ingredients: Silk powder, silk extract, yeast extract, hadasei-3
- Type: Liquid
Best Soft Matte: NARS Soft Matte Primer
- Why We Love It: NARS water-gel texture primer is a classic choice for a soft matte finish. Antioxidant-rich ingredients like cocoa seed and rosemary leaf extracts not only minimize excess oil production but also prevent acne-causing bacteria and makeup shade fading due to oxidation. In addition, other plant-based ingredients like rice bran and sunflower extract soften skin texture for a smooth surface to paint your makeup on.
- Key Ingredients: Dimethicone, talc, red seaweed extract, rice bran extract, sunflower extract, rosemary leaf extract, tocopherol, silica
- Type: Gel
Best Blurring: Smashbox The Original Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Makeup Primer
- Why We Love It: This light-as-air feel is suitable for all skin tones, from fair to rich, in a crystal clear universal shade. With just a swipe of a pea-sized amount of product, the silicone-based, cruelty-free primer instantly smooths the appearance of pores for a blurred appearance. This velvety, lightweight primer has a gel-like texture and instantly smooths and blurs fine lines and pores. Meanwhile, antioxidant ingredients like vitamins E and A blend with grapeseed extract to hydrate and brighten your complexion.
- Key Ingredients: Dimethicone, silica, vitamin E, safflower seed extract, grape seed extract, kola seed extract
- Type: Gel
Everything You Need To Know
How to Choose a Primer for Oily Skin
When choosing a primer for oily skin, it’s best not to choose just any option off of the shelf. Instead, you'll have to get a bit more specialized in your selection, picking ingredients that will combat excess sebum production. Professional makeup artist El DeBratto walks us through their tips and tricks to making picking the right primer a breeze.
- Silicone vs. Water Based: In the great makeup debate of silicone versus water-based products, DeBratto suggests opting for silicone-based primers to combat excessively oily complexions. “I personally prefer formulas that are silicone based, specifically those with Dimethicone (a silicone-based polymer) because it helps to refine the texture and softness of skin.”
- Ingredients: In addition to dimethicone, oil-absorbing powders such as rice bran and gentle chemical exfoliants such as AHAs and BHAs are common inclusions in formulas.
- Texture: When it comes to texture, DeBratto advises gel and creams, thanks to their durability, ability to withstand the elements, and oil production throughout the say.
Do you really need a primer?
Short answer: a resounding yes, especially if you have oily or combination skin. “For those individuals who are super oil-prone, primers serve as a protective barrier between your layers of skincare, your foundation, and the elements. On non-primed oily skin, facial oils tend to seep through the layers of foundation, disrupting the consistency in the skin finish (and that’s when things get blotchy).” DeBratto tells Vogue. “When you place an oil-absorbing primer in the targeted areas, your foundation wear will last longer and have less of a chance for separation. For those who prefer to go without foundation or concealer, an oil-absorbing primer is also suitable to avoid having a greasy look as you go about your day.”
As a pro tip, fellow pro makeup artist Anastasia Vavina reminds us not to confuse chronically dehydrated skin with an oily complexion, encouraging us to also treat the cause of the problem rather than just the symptom. “Skin oftentimes will produce more oils to compensate for a lack of hydration—so you may need a deeply hydrating moisturizer,” she explains. “Being more intentional with your skincare prep before makeup will always give you better results overall.”
How to Apply a Primer for Oily Skin
DeBratto advises a targeted application, focusing on the areas of your face which tend to get the most oily—and remember, a little bit of product goes a long way. “Take a pea-sized amount on the fingertips and apply only in the needed areas for extra oil-absorption,” they explain. “Once it’s dried down, proceed with any additional makeup application you may desire.” Anastasia Vavina agrees, and notes the important of patience throughout the application process. “Since skin prep is a key, especially before applying a mattifying formula, allow time in between layering products to allow everything to sink in,” she tells Vogue. “When applying, only press and pat the product in for the best result—never rub it into your skin.” To top things off, the pros suggest finishing off your routine with a setting spray.
Meet The Experts
- El DeBratto is a non-binary New York-based editorial makeup artist whose clients include Coco Rocha, Flower Beauty, Kristin Ess, and Glamour Magazine.
- Anastasia Vavina is a professional makeup artist and hairstylist based in New York. In addition to working closely with major model agencies, Vavina's work has been featured in Numero Netherlands, Elle, and more.
